The Portion You Didn't Keep

Then Nehemiah told them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send out portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Nehemiah 8:10 (BSB)

There is a moment in the kitchen, right before you serve, when everything is still warm and it all smells exactly right. The pan is full. The table is set. And something in you wants to hold it close, keep it contained, make sure there is plenty before anything leaves your hands. That pull is so human. I feel it too.

Nehemiah 8:10 is one of those verses that stops me cold. Not just the famous part about joy being strength, but the part that comes first: eat the rich food, drink the sweet drink, and send portions to those who have nothing prepared. The feast was not just for the people gathered. The celebrating was supposed to move outward. Generosity was baked right into the holy day.

That reframes the table for me. The meal is not just an act of sustenance or even gratitude. It is a practice of sending. Something leaves your hands and reaches someone else's. And in that movement, something in you opens up too. The joy that Nehemiah describes is not a closed, private thing. It is the kind that gets bigger when it goes out.

So today, the food you prepare or share or buy is a thread you can pull outward. It does not have to be a production. A portion is a portion. What matters is that the table in your heart has more than one seat.

At the table today: Pack One Extra Portion Today and Give It Away

When you make your meal today, make a little more than you need. Pack it up, wrap it, bag it, whatever works. Then give it to someone before the day is done. A neighbor, a coworker, the person at the front desk, whoever comes to mind first. You do not have to explain it or make it meaningful out loud. Just let the food move from your hands to theirs. That is the practice. That is enough.

A prayer

Lord, make me generous before I am sure I have enough, and let the joy of a table that sends outward be the strength that carries me through today.

Journal

What is one person you have been meaning to feed, and what has been keeping you from doing it?